While non-electric bikes have a robust secondhand market, the more complex tech in e-bikes means riders are more reticent to buy used, Wattinne explained. By refurbishing the bikes and offering a yearlong warranty, Upway aims to ease that anxiety while keeping more used e-bikes in circulation for longer.
Upway has focused its marketing on “tailored and specific partnerships,” as it builds brand awareness in the U.S., with placements in newsletters from outlets like The New York Times, Business Insider and The Donut.
Newsletters let Upway “punch above our weight, or, make sure that we have immediate access to a qualified audience at a lower price,” Wattinne explained. The company is also investing in social and search and will shift to more top-of-funnel brand marketing on streaming platforms.
Electric growth
E-bike sales have skyrocketed in recent years, jumping 269% between 2019 and 2022, according to data from market research firm Circana and reported by ABC.
But there’s still huge potential for growth. Just 10% of Americans own an e-bike so far, according to the Adweek-Morning Consult survey. And nearly 6 in 10 non-electric bike owners are thinking about upgrading to an e-bike in the next five years.
According to the Adweek-Morning Consult data, over half (57%) of people are most concerned with the safety and cost of an e-bike.
“That’s pretty typical when you’re talking about new tech,” explained Julia Martinez, energy and auto analyst at Morning Consult. “I see this with electric vehicles as well—consumers are the most worried about safety. They’re just unfamiliar with the technology.”
Of those most interested in buying an e-bike in the next five years, maintenance and range were also top concerns for a majority (59% and 60%, respectively), while size and hauling capacity were top priorities for about half of those surveyed.
“We’re at somewhere between 30 and 50% penetration of e-bikes at the moment of total bikes,” Kersten Heineke, partner in McKinsey’s Frankfurt office and co-lead of the firm’s Center for Future Mobility, told Adweek. “That’s ultimately going to go all the way up to 60, 70, 80. […] We are super excited about the future of the industry.”
